“It’s another puzzle; how frustrating.” Again, Amethyst stated the obvious.
“Sorry.” Julius spoke from behind them. Finn whirled in surprise. Hard to get used to spirits flitting in and out of people and just showing up without warning. By the look on the spirit’s face, he was anything but sorry. In fact, he looked fairly cheerful.
C-R-T-A-I-E-V-H-R-A
After a minute they started throwing out guesses. “Something chair?” Amethyst said, “Or maybe heart something? I’m stumped.”
Finn stepped back and looked at the window just as the effect faded, and he knew. “It’s the architrave,” he all but shouted it.
“It’s the what now?” Kat asked. It wasn’t a word she heard every day.
“The architrave is that section above the columns in Greek architecture or it can be a type of lintel above a door,” Gustavia explained. In his excitement, and because he was happy that she knew the term, Finn grabbed her and gave her a smacking kiss. To the delight of all her friends, Gustavia blushed. They’d never let her live that down.
“How would we access it? From inside or outside?” Tyler wondered aloud.
“Depends on what’s hidden, how the space was created, and how the room behind it is laid out.”
“We aren’t sure what’s hidden, but we have the house plans from the big remodel if that helps,” Julie said. She was thankful for Finn being part of the group; he brought some skills to the table.
Frowning thoughtfully, Finn answered, “Maybe, but it doesn’t make sense. The architrave is generally a solid, structural beam. I’m not sure how anyone would create a hiding place in a solid beam. But, as Gustavia pointed out, he might have meant the entire lintel area above the door.”
“Always with the complications, Julius.” Amethyst spoke to the spirit who promptly pasted a mutinous look on his face and replied, “Didn’t want just anyone getting their hands on it, did I?”
A quick look at the plans yielded a bit of information. There was a space in the pediment above the architrave, but they were no closer to figuring out how to access the area.
Finn and Tyler decided to set up some staging and take a closer look from the outside. Julie and her friends would inspect the corresponding area inside. Hopefully, one of the groups would find the access. Julius flitted impatiently between both groups, visibly frustrated at his inability to provide any sort of guidance.
Because she had the best eye for that sort of thing, Gustavia was the one sent out to gauge the height of the architrave. They needed to estimate whether the most likely access point would be upstairs or downstairs.
“Upstairs,” She pronounced. “Just about level with the floor, I think.”
The four women made their way up to Estelle’s old room, now Julie’s, only to find a stretch of bare, blank wall in the spot Gustavia indicated. Amethyst swore and handed Kat a crisp five-dollar bill then, fuming, stalked back downstairs and outside to see if the men had found anything while Julie and Gustavia exchanged a knowing eyebrow quirk then, along with Kat, followed her. At least she’d only lost five this time.
Judging by the dark looks on their faces, the men’s luck had been no better. They’d poked and prodded, then knocked to listen for hollow places. Finding nothing significant, they were deep in a discussion over a bit of judicious demolition.
Tyler was all for prying off some trim to see what they could see while Finn was firmly against the wanton destruction of perfectly good architectural elements. He called down to Julie from his perch on the staging, “Hey, do you think you’re looking for anything metallic? We could rent a metal detector, run it over the area and see if anything triggers.”
“Ooh, wait,” Gustavia squealed. She ran for her bag where, after a brief search through its voluminous depths, she pulled out her dowsing rods. “I’m pretty good with these. Let me up there. I should be able to get a reading if there’s metal.”
Finn raised an eyebrow. He’d heard of dowsing but never seen anyone actually do it before.
Gustavia climbed nimbly up the staging and motioned for the men to climb down. It was better if there were no distractions. Grasping one bent rod in each hand, Gustavia raised her arms above shoulder height aiming them at the flat area just above her head.
At first she stood still; then she slowly turned in place. The rods did not move, so she lowered them and repeated her actions in another section of the staging. Not a twitch this time, either. “I don’t think there’s any large amount of metal up here,” she called down.
In an undertone, Finn asked, “Do we take that as conclusive evidence?”
Tyler grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, “I do. I’ve seen her in action.”
“Well, okay then. Now what?”
“You’re the architectural restoration expert; you tell us.” Amethyst pointed a purple tipped finger at Finn.
“I’d say we take a walk through the house looking for other architraves, and if we don’t find any, then we come back here and rethink. Maybe the—are we calling it treasure? Booty? Loot?” He looked around and, since no one answered, continued, “Maybe the valuables aren’t metal.”
To save energy, Estelle withdrew from Kat leaving the psychic without sight again as they split off into two groups to search the house. Finn leading one; Gustavia—since she knew what to look for—leading the other.
Half an hour later both groups were again clustered around the staging. The mood was grim.
“Clearly we’re missing something. Are you sure this is the hiding place? Could it be just another clue?” Finn stepped back to appraise the architrave again.
The architrave spanned the portico over the entrance to the house resting atop the columns and supporting the frieze, pediment, and cornices. If there was any place in that setup to hide something, it was in the pediment. So why had the clue been a solid beam?
Remounting the staging, Finn took a closer look at the over-sized dentil molding that ran across the face of the architrave. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gustavia making the climb to join him. The two stood in comfortable silence for a moment before walking to opposite ends of the staging and prodding each block of the molding in turn, just to see if one of them might trigger something.
“Did you notice there are just twelve blocks to this molding? That leaves ten spaces between. What if…”
Following her train of thought, he reached up to run his fingers along the first space to find a gently curved piece of trim along the lower edge. Something important here; he needed a better look.
Gesturing for Gustavia to follow him, Finn climbed back down. Then he and Tyler added another section to raise the staging to a height where they could get a full view of the molding.
The foot-wide blocks that formed the dentil molding were only spaced about two inches apart. In each space was an additional curved and carved piece of molding with a narrow gap in the back.
Stating the obvious, Tyler said, “These curved spots remind me of the way the lens keys fit into the stained glass windows.”
By the time the two of them were back on the ground, Gustavia and Julie were already halfway up the stairs to retrieve the lenses.
After a short discussion, they decided it would be best to pull them from the window in order. Gustavia closed her eyes and brought back the mental image of the window from when the letters glowed.
Picking them off in the order she remembered, she handed them to Julie who stacked them carefully in one hand then returned to the foot of the staging. Since it was Julie’s house, she joined Finn for the climb back up to place the lenses in the slots and see if anything happened.
When the first lens fit perfectly and settled partway into the slot with an audible click and Julie let out a whoop that nearly caused Finn to jump out of his skin, he lectured her on staging safety; but, he could tell by her unrepentant grin she wasn’t listening closely.
She called down to the others below, “This is it!” then went down the line dropping lenses i
nto place. Click, click, click until, finally, there was only one left in her hand. “Ready? Here we go.” Julie dropped the final lens into its slot, listened for the click. No click sounded. Instead, she heard a faint whirring sound.
She and Finn looked at each other with identical expressions of surprised consternation. Something had happened, but what and where? No sign of anything different on the facade of the portico. Calling down to the others Julie asked, “You see anything from down there?” Shrugs and head shakes were the only answer. They climbed down.
Julius stood watching the activity, an unreadable expression on his face.
Gustavia whirled to confront him, “What now? No wait. Don’t tell me.” Her eyes narrowed as she fumed in irritation. “Not a lot of help are you?”
“I guess the next logical step is to look around inside.” Tyler pointed out the obvious.
“Julie’s room first. It’s the one behind the portico. I think that seems the most logical place to start.” Gustavia determined.
She was the first person through the door and, when she stopped short, Julie nearly slammed into her back. “Whoa.”
Gustavia stepped aside making room for the others.
“Well, that’s unexpected.” Amethyst, always the master of the understatement, intoned.
The lovely crystal chandelier that had previously hung below a decorative medallion in the ceiling was now suspended just a few inches above the floor, the decorative ceiling medallion still attached. Atop the platform it created were several cloth-wrapped bundles.
Looking up through the hole, Tyler pointed to a bit of machinery. “He installed a winch between the ceiling and the floor. The cumulative weight of the lenses must have triggered the switch to activate it. Very clever.” He looked over at Julius in appreciation. Julius preened at the attention.
Gustavia looked at Julie and, this time, the war whoop was expected as they moved together toward the wrapped parcels while Amethyst and Kat moved some things to make a space for them on the desk.
“Wait for us before you open them,” Tyler requested, then gestured to Finn to follow him out to the portico where they pulled the lenses back out of the slots, retracting the chandelier back into its normal place.
“Handy for cleaning if the switch were more accessible.” Finn appreciated the ingenuity. He shook his head, scrubbed a hand over his eyes. “A treasure hunt. Feels a bit surreal.”
Figuring it was his right, even if she did have a big bad cop for a brother, Tyler fixed a serious look on his usually cheerful face. “Most valuable treasure you’ve managed to find is Gustavia. Make sure you appreciate your good fortune. She’s one of a kind; Julie’s sister in all but blood. That makes her mine. I won’t take it kindly if she gets hurt.”
Knowing he could choose to be offended Finn decided, instead, to be thankful the man felt protective, “I’ve already told Julie this, but I’m not planning on hurting her. I’ve got my head on square again. Took me long enough to come around, but I’m all in. All in, you understand?”
“Yeah, I can see that. Just had to make sure. We’ve become quite a family, especially the women. Gotta tell you, it will be nice to have some more testosterone added to the mix.”
“So we’re good?”
“As it gets. Not about to speak for the women, though. I expect they’ll put you through it a bit before you’re fully vetted. I think you can hold your own. Now that we’ve had our little bonding experience, as Gustavia would call it, let’s get back inside and check out the loot.”
“Before they’re overcome with curiosity, you mean.”
“Could happen.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“What’s taking them so long?” Gustavia sighed as she absently picked at the cloth covering on one of the packages, then gently picked it up and shook it.
“Tyler’s giving Finn a “come-to-Jesus” talk.” Amethyst smiled at the thought.
The idea that Tyler would stand for her both dismayed her and made Gustavia feel warm and safe. “Really? You think so?”
“Oh, yeah. He had that look in his eye.”
“Surprised it took him this long,” Kat said.
“Surprised you didn’t have a bet on it.” Julie’s eyes twinkled while Amethyst rolled hers.
“Hard to bet on something when you’re both on the same side of it. Tyler takes his role of our little family patriarch seriously. More every day, I’m thinking. Especially when it comes to you, but I know he’d do the same for me or Kat. He’s the best.” Julie smiled at that. She fully agreed.
“Here they come.” Kat heard them at the foot of the stairs. Finally, they’d get to see what was in the packages. It didn’t take her psychic senses or the fact that Estelle was sharing her body to know that the spirits were getting restless at the delay.
When the two men returned to the room, Julie, suddenly nervous, picked up the largest of the cloth bundles and, with one last look around at her friends, began removing the outer wrappings. Inside the first layer of coarser cloth was another layer of softer cottony flannel which fell away more easily. Each fold of the cotton, as it unwrapped, revealed a piece of jewelry; some in soft drawstring bags, some loose, some protected in twists of paper.
Strands of pearls in shades of palest pink to white fell from the folds of cloth as Julie unwound layer after layer. The only noise to be heard was the whispers made by the unwinding cloth punctuated by a softly voiced ooh or ah as each new treasure was revealed.
After the necklaces came matching bracelets, then earrings, as she continued deeper into the heart of the packet. Eventually, the last shred of cloth fell away to reveal a small drawstring bag. With shaking hands, Julie untied the knots and pulled open the bag and peeked inside. Wide-eyed, she gestured for Gustavia to hold out her hands, then poured a rain of loose pearls into their waiting depths.
Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, Amethyst exclaimed, “Holy cats!” and broke the spell making everyone else laugh. She reached into the bounty that Gustavia held and pulled out a perfect specimen, nearly three quarters of an inch in diameter. She rolled it between her fingers; it felt both warm and cool at the same time, almost like a living, breathing thing.
The laughter lightened the mood considerably. The next parcel yielded a much smaller handful of jewelry set with deep, red rubies and another string bag of loose, cut stones. Julie was overwhelmed and passed the final three bundles to her friends to open while the men looked on.
Kat found sapphires; Amethyst, emeralds; and Gustavia the cold fire of small, but exquisitely cut diamonds.
If she never bothered with the last two treasures, Julie would have no problem finishing all the repairs the old house needed with plenty left over for a rainy day. It was a lot to take in.
With a sigh, Kat felt Estelle pull her consciousness gently away and, a moment, later was plunged again into darkness. Someday, sooner rather than later, she hoped that darkness would become a thing of the past. In the meantime, she realized with a start that she felt none of the fear or fatigue that had accompanied the channeling in the past. She was beginning to feel more comfortable with her abilities.
Maybe it was her imagination; but, each time, the darkness seemed a little less dense. It was hard to tell, though. It might just be wishful thinking.
Estelle joined Julius, both of them beaming proudly, then faded away.
At that point, Finn sat heavily on the foot of Julie’s bed. So what if it wasn’t manly to feel a bit overwhelmed; it had been quite a day. No wonder these people had such a tight bond. Between this type of experience and dealing with Julie’s crazy ex, they couldn’t help but become a close knit group.
He looked up to see Amethyst, Gustavia and Tyler looking at him appraisingly. “His aura...” Tyler started to speak. “Wonky does not begin to cover it.” Amethyst sounded concerned.
“Trust me, I’ve got this.” Gustavia said confidently. Reaching down, she did nothing more than entwine her fingers with his. He felt it then, the
peace that washed over him at her touch. The way the world righted itself.
“Cool.” Tyler said, as he saw their auras merge then separate; Finn’s now clear and vibrant.
Finn stood, pronounced to the room, “I’m going to kiss her now,” then followed through. When he let her go, Gustavia had stars in her eyes, ones that shined only for him.
Epilogue
Amethyst sat quietly nearby as Kat laid out the tarot cards. She wasn’t using her usual Celtic cross spread this time. Nor was she using her mythic deck.
No, this time she was using a set of cards she never used with clients. This deck had been handmade by her grandmother to probe into darker, deeper mysteries. When it had been passed on to Kat, it had been with the understanding that this deck and its companion layout was for emergencies only.
Since Logan’s reappearance several weeks before, she’d been having vividly visual dreams, the kind she’d had as a child before her gift had become active. At first they’d been harmless, fairytale-like, and she’d enjoyed them; but as the days passed, she began to sense an amorphous presence; one that created enough fear to turn her bones liquid and leave her feeling powerless.
This spread was her last-ditch effort. Kat needed to get to the root of the problem; this spread should help her plumb the depths of her subconscious. At least she hoped so. The figure was becoming clearer and more menacing with every appearance.
Telling Amethyst about her dreams hadn’t been easy; but since her friend had the uncanny ability to read auras, there was no sense in trying to hide the problem. So, Kat had confided. Now Amethyst was there to provide support; and, because she was, the cards included her in their revelation.
Amethyst was about to get a surprise. Too bad Kat couldn’t tell if it would be a good one or a bad one.
Seven cards made up the spread and, as each one fell, her dread increased. The situation with Logan was more complicated than she’d thought. Pure evil had a hold on him; the same evil she’d begun to see in her dream. Kat was afraid that if that figure ever got close enough to see her in return, she and her friends would never be safe again.
Bells On Her Toes (The Psychic Seasons Series Book 2) Page 20
